HILTON HEAD, S.C. – Duke women's golf concluded play on Wednesday at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate with sophomore
Rylie Heflin and senior
Erica Shepherd carding even and under-par rounds on the final day of play at the 6,220-Yard, Par-71 Long Cove Club in Hilton Head, S.C.
Heflin birdied the final hole en route to posting an even-par, 71, while Shepherd turned in her ninth career round in the 60s with a 2-under, 69. Junior
Phoebe Brinker was 3-under-par on the front nine and moved into a tie for the individual lead, before closing with a 73. Â
How It Happened
•   Duke featured the best start of any school on Wednesday as the Blue Devils jumped out to a 4-under-par ledger early to move up the leaderboard. During the hot start,
Phoebe Brinker was 3-under-par through eight holes and moved into a tie for the individual lead at 4-under for the tournament. Â
•   Brinker, who hails from Wilmington, Del., had her irons dialed in early as she stuck approach shots on No. 4, No. 6 and No. 8 inside 12 feet and sank the birdies. She would drop five strokes over the next five holes, before collecting her fourth birdie of the day on No. 14. Brinker closed with a 2-over-par, 73, on Wednesday, while finishing the tournament in a tie for ninth with a 214. She tied a season best with 29 putts, hit eight fairways and 11 greens on the day. Â
•   After shooting over par the first two days, senior
Erica Shepherd had things working on Wednesday as she shot a 2-under, 69. On the front nine, she was 3-under-par as she drained a 15-foot birdie on No. 4, 5-footer on No. 7 and 11-footer on No. 9. After a bogey on No. 10, Shepherd parred the final eight holes to finish with a 69. She hit 13 fairways, 13 greens and had 28 putts. Â
•   Sophomore
Rylie Heflin turned in one of her best rounds of the season to close action in Hilton Head. She opened with six straight pars, before hitting her 7-iron from 155 yards to six feet for birdie on No. 7. Heflin parred the next five holes and then dropped a couple of shots on holes 13-16. She turned in a sand save for par on No. 17 and then sank a 30-foot birdie from off the green on No. 18 to finish with an even-par, 71. Â
•   Both
Andie Smith and
Megan Furtney closed action with a 78 on Wednesday. Smith was held without a birdie, while collecting seven up-and-downs. Furtney birdied two of the four par-3 holes.
•   LSU won the team title with an 858, while Duke finished in a tie for 10th with rounds of 300, 290 and 291 for an 881. South Carolina's Mathilde Claisse won the individual medal with a 208.
Notes
•   The Blue Devils carded 10 birdies on the day, after rolling in eight on Monday.
•  Â
Phoebe Brinker tied for eighth with rounds of 72, 69 and 73 for a 214. She led Duke with nine birdies in the three days.
•  Â
Rylie Heflin registered 31 putts along with 14 greens and 10 fairways in regulation in the final round. Her tied for 30th finish was her second-best 54-hole ledger of the season. Â
•   The second and third rounds of 290 and 291 were the lowest team rounds for Duke since the Ruth Chris Tar Heel Invitational in October (Duke shot 287 in the first round).
•   Four different Blue Devils shot at least one even or under-par round over the 54 holes – Brinker, Heflin,
Erica Shepherd and
Andie Smith.
Quotes
"We're not scoring well, but there were some indicators that we're developing as a team. Phoebe was tied for the lead today and wound up with a very solid tournament. Rylie has developed a wind game. Erica had a great round today. It takes patience to see a season through to the end. It takes patience to see a golf career through to the end. We're having fun and training hard - sticking to the process." – Duke head coach
Dan Brooks
Up Next
Duke will next compete in the Valspar Augusta Invitational March 11-12 in Augusta, Ga.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils women's golf, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWGOLF".
#GoDuke
Duke Results
T3 T8
Phoebe Brinker Duke 72  69 73      214 +1
T44 T30
Rylie Heflin Duke 76  73 71      220 +7
T63 T40
Erica Shepherd Duke 75  77 69      221 +8
T35 T63
Andie Smith Duke 77  71 78      226 +13
87 T86
Megan Furtney Duke 81  81 78      240 +27
1 2 3 Team Scores
T1Â 2Â 1 LSU 283Â 288Â 287Â Â Â Â Â Â 858Â +6
T1Â 1Â 2 South Carolina 283Â 284Â 295Â Â Â Â Â Â 862Â +10
3Â 3Â 3 Auburn 285Â 292Â 289Â Â Â Â Â Â 866Â +14
T4Â T6Â 4 Wake Forest 291Â 292Â 284Â Â Â Â Â Â 867Â +15
T7Â 4Â 5 Texas 295Â 286Â 290Â Â Â Â Â Â 871Â +19
6Â T6Â 6 Arizona State 292Â 291Â 289Â Â Â Â Â Â 872Â +20
T4Â 8Â 7 Baylor 291Â 293Â 289Â Â Â Â Â Â 873Â +21
9Â 5Â 8 Vanderbilt 296Â 286Â 293Â Â Â Â Â Â 875Â +23
T7Â T12Â 9 Oregon 295Â 297Â 285Â Â Â Â Â Â 877Â +25
T12Â T9Â T10 Duke 300Â 290Â 291Â Â Â Â Â Â 881Â +29
T10Â T9Â T10 Georgia 297Â 293Â 291Â Â Â Â Â Â 881Â +29
T12Â T9Â 12 Northwestern 300Â 290Â 292Â Â Â Â Â Â 882Â +30
T10Â T12Â 13 Alabama 297Â 295Â 291Â Â Â Â Â Â 883Â +31
T15Â T15Â 14 Virginia 307Â 297Â 286Â Â Â Â Â Â 890Â +38
14Â 14Â 15 Kentucky 305Â 295Â 294Â Â Â Â Â Â 894Â +42
17Â 17Â 16 Furman 311Â 295Â 292Â Â Â Â Â Â 898Â +46
T15Â T15Â 17 Arkansas 307Â 297Â 300Â Â Â Â Â Â 904Â +52
Start Finish Player Team Scores
1 1 Mathilde Claisse South Carolina 69  69 70      208 -5
T7 2 Edit Hertzman LSU 69  73 67      209 -4
T3 3 Rosie Belsham Baylor 69  72 71      212 -1
T20 T4 Huai-Chien Hsu Texas 74  72 67      213 E
T3 T4 Celina Sattelkau Vanderbilt 73  68 72      213 E
T7 T4 Jenny Bae Georgia 72  70 71      213 E
T7 T4 Ashleigh Park Oregon 70  72 71      213 E
T3 T8
Phoebe Brinker Duke 72  69 73      214 +1
T28 T8 Emilia Migliaccio Wake Forest 73  74 67      214 +1
T7 T8 Jensen Castle Kentucky 72  70 72      214 +1
T12 T11 Katherine Muzi * South Carolina 71  72 72      215 +2
T3 T11 Ingrid Lindblad LSU 68  73 74      215 +2
T28 T13 Ashley Menne Arizona State 76  71 69      216 +3
T20 T13 Aine Donegan LSU 76  70 70      216 +3
2 T13 Megan Schofill Auburn 67  73 76      216 +3
T44 T16 Anna Morgan Furman 74  75 68      217 +4
T12 T16 Paula Schulz-Hannsen Arizona State 73  70 74      217 +4
T7 T16 Angela Heo Texas 70  72 75      217 +4
T54 T16 Hsin-Yu Lu Oregon 76  74 67      217 +4
T14 T16 Casey Weidenfeld Auburn 72  72 73      217 +4
T20 T21 Tillie Claggett Vanderbilt 75  71 72      218 +5
T20 T21 Rachel Kuehn Wake Forest 72  74 72      218 +5
T35 T23 Beth Coulter Arizona State 71  77 71      219 +6
T35 T23 Mimi Rhodes Wake Forest 74  74 71      219 +6
T44 T23 Sarah Edwards Alabama 78  71 70      219 +6
T14 T23 Lauren Walsh Wake Forest 73  71 75      219 +6
T54 T23 Anna Foster Auburn 74  76 69      219 +6
T14 T23 Hannah Darling South Carolina 73  71 75      219 +6
T20 T23 Lauryn Nguyen Northwestern 76  70 73      219 +6
T44 T30
Rylie Heflin Duke 76  73 71      220 +7
T44 T30 Irene Kim * Northwestern 77  72 71      220 +7
T18 T30 Grace Summerhays Arizona State 72  73 75      220 +7
T28 T30 Sera Hasegawa Baylor 75  72 73      220 +7
T35 T30 Celeste Valinho Virginia 76  72 72      220 +7
T20 T30 Carolina Lopez-Chacarra Wake Forest 73  73 74      220 +7
T20 T30 Virginie Ding Vanderbilt 73  73 74      220 +7
T28 T30 Benedetta Moresco Alabama 73  74 73      220 +7
T14 T30 Mia Lussand South Carolina 70  74 76      220 +7
T44 T30 Jieni Li Northwestern 76  73 71      220 +7
T63 T40
Erica Shepherd Duke 75  77 69      221 +8
T54 T40 Kelly Sim Northwestern 76  74 71      221 +8
T28 T40 Louise Rydqvist South Carolina 71  76 74      221 +8
T35 T40 Elina Sinz Auburn 72  76 73      221 +8
T54 T40 Briana Chacon Oregon 75  75 71      221 +8
T54 T45 BaiMai Seema Baylor 75  75 72      222 +9
T20 T45 Latanna Stone LSU 74  72 76      222 +9
T35 T45 Caterina Don Georgia 72  76 74      222 +9
T18 T45 Dianna Lee Northwestern 72  73 77      222 +9
T63 T49 Bohyun Park Texas 74  78 71      223 +10
T44 T49 Kajal Mistry Arkansas 77  72 74      223 +10
T63 T49 Caroline Craig Georgia 78  74 71      223 +10
T44 T49 Katie Cranston Auburn 78  71 74      223 +10
T35 T53 Silje Ohma Baylor 72  76 76      224 +11
T71 T53 Amanda Sambach Virginia 82  71 71      224 +11
T44 T53 Faith Johnson Furman 75  74 75      224 +11
T63 T53 Laney Frye Kentucky 76  76 72      224 +11
T28 T53 Sophie Guo Texas 77  70 77      224 +11
T63 T58 Hannah Karg Baylor 78  74 73      225 +12
T71 T58 Emilie Overas Alabama 79  74 72      225 +12
T63 T58 Miriam Ayora Arkansas 79  73 73      225 +12
T44 T58 Kynadie Adams Alabama 73  76 76      225 +12
T35 T58 Celeste Dao Georgia 75  73 77      225 +12
T35 T63
Andie Smith Duke 77  71 78      226 +13
T44 T63 Natasha Kiel Vanderbilt 75  74 77      226 +13
T54 T63 Kendall Todd Arkansas 75  75 76      226 +13
T83 T66 Megan Propeck Virginia 80  78 69      227 +14
T28 T66 LoraLie Cowart * Georgia 75  72 80      227 +14
T71 T66 Riley Smyth Virginia 76  77 74      227 +14
T63 T66 Tess Davenport Vanderbilt 76  76 75      227 +14
T54 T66 Marissa Wenzler Kentucky 79  71 77      227 +14
T61 T71 Bentley Cotton Texas 79  72 77      228 +15
T35 T71 Carla Tejedo Mulet LSU 72  76 80      228 +15
T61 T71 Justine Fournand South Carolina 81  70 77      228 +15
T63 T74 Jennifer Cleary Virginia 75  77 77      229 +16
T71 T74 Minori Nagano Oregon 77  76 76      229 +16
T80 76 Ivy Shepherd Kentucky 78  79 73      230 +17
T77 T77 Kendall Jackson * Howard University 79  76 76      231 +18
T75 T77 Meghan Royal Arkansas 76  78 77      231 +18
86 T79 Chloe Johnson Furman 80  80 72      232 +19
T77 T79 Liza Lapeyre Furman 82  73 77      232 +19
T75 81 Ching-Tzu Chen Oregon 74  80 79      233 +20
T80 82 Caroline Crumrine Furman 84  73 77      234 +21
T83 T83 Kyra Cox * Howard University 85  73 78      236 +23
85 T83 Maria Villanueva Aperribay Kentucky 81  78 77      236 +23
T77 85 Isabella van der Biest Alabama 73  82 84      239 +26
87 T86
Megan Furtney Duke 81  81 78      240 +27
90 T86 Candice Mahe Georgia 86  79 75      240 +27
T88 T88 Amanda Linner Arizona State 86  77 78      241 +28
T80 T88 Giovanna Fernandez Arkansas 80  77 84      241 +28
T88 90 Jennifer Cai Northwestern 79  84 80      243 +30
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